This weekend was devoid of Twins news, but with the annual winter meetings starting today in Dallas and every general manager in the same hotel it should be a very busy week across MLB. I'll be posting any interesting Twins-related speculation here throughout the day, with full write-ups of any deals they make, but if you want non-stop coverage of rumors, trades, and signings check out Hardball Talk for my analysis and Craig Calcaterra reporting from Dallas.

9:45 AM:Phil Mackey of 1500-ESPN says the Twins continue to focus on re-signing Michael Cuddyer and Darren Wolfson of KSTP-TV reports that they haven't even set up a face-to-face meeting with outfield alternative Josh Willingham.

10:15 AM:LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribuneadds in that "agents now are speculating that Cuddyer will end up back with the Twins" and it may only require a two-year contract because the market for him has been less than expected.

11:00 AM: On the other hand, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports that the Twins are among nine teams to "have called on" Willingham.

1:10 PM:Jayson Stark of ESPN reports that the Twins have asked the Rangers about David Murphy, presumably as a left-handed-hitting replacement for Jason Kubel.

1:30 PM: Not exactly a big move, but the Twins claimed 24-year-old shortstop Pedro Florimon off waivers from the Orioles. He hit .267/.344/.396 with eight homers and a 114/51 K/BB ratio in 133 games at Double-A in what was the best year of his career. He's a utility man at best.

2:35 PM:According toRhett Bollinger of MLB.com the Twins are "tentatively scheduled" to meet with Willingham's agent Thursday "if the club doesn't reach a deal with Cuddyer" first.

3:20 PM:Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes has the Twins among five teams interested in free agent Carlos Guillen.

3:45 PM:Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Twins joined the Marlins, Rangers, and Nationals in making an offer to Mark Buehrle, but adds that their offer is "not as strong."

I'm not at the winter meetings this year, but my blog-mate Craig Calcaterra is on the scene in Orlando writing lots of good stuff on Hardball Talk and after Day 1 there are even some Twins-related rumblings worth noting ...

• Bill Smith met yesterday afternoon with Tsuyoshi Nishioka's agent for the first time and Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse reports that the Twins have offered the Japanese infielder a three-year deal worth $9-$10 million. Last week I crunched some numbers on previous Japanese players signing with MLB teams and concluded: "Based on those precedents ... a three-year deal for around $9 million seems likely." Not bad. Now he just needs to accept the offer.

• J.J. Hardy's status remains up in the air, but I expect his situation to come into focus quickly once Nishioka signs. My hope is still that the Twins keep both players and use Alexi Casilla in a utility role, but as many as six teams have reportedly expressed interest in trading for Hardy and if the Twins are going to move him they'll want to do so before the shortstop market gets settled. Right now I'd probably bet on Hardy being traded for bullpen help.

• Speaking of which, according toDan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun the Twins are among six teams to express interest in free agent reliever Koji Uehara. A month ago I examined low-cost bullpen options and put Uehara atop the list of my recommended targets, suggesting that he'd "make an ideal setup man" if "available for a reasonable one-year contract." With at least five other teams bidding that may prove difficult, but it's nice to hear the Twins like him too.

• Last week Jim Thome's agent reiterated that he planned to play in 2011 at age 40 and now the future Hall of Famer toldKen Rosenthal of FOXSports.com that he wants to play two more seasons. Thome called the Twins "an awesome organization" and "a wonderful place to play," but stopped short of saying he planned to re-sign. According to Rosenthal, agent Pat Rooney "has received calls from multiple teams expressing interest."

• Smith told ESPN1500.com's Phil Mackey that he hasn't ruled out re-signing Carl Pavano, but given various reports of heavy interest from several teams and speculation about three-year offers his returning to Minnesota seems highly unlikely. Making a three-season commitment to Pavano would be a mistake, so hopefully the Twins will be content to let the 34-year-old right-hander walk and take the compensatory draft picks.

Get the 22nd edition of the New York Times bestselling Baseball Prospectus Annual. Edited by Aaron Gleeman, it features a foreword from Twins pitcher Glen Perkins, a Twins team chapter written by Gleeman and Parker Hageman, and 600 pages of analysis, projections, essays, rankings, and in-depth coverage of all 30 teams.